scholarly journals Broadband photocurrent enhancement and light-trapping in thin film Si solar cells with periodic Al nanoparticle arrays on the front

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (11) ◽  
pp. A525 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Uhrenfeldt ◽  
T. F. Villesen ◽  
A. Têtu ◽  
B. Johansen ◽  
A. Nylandsted Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Nanoparticle Arrays ◽  
Si Solar Cells

Light trapping characteristics of glass substrate with hemisphere pit arrays in thin film Si solar cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 040202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Chen ◽  
Qing-Kang Wang ◽  
Pei-Hua Wangyang ◽  
Kun Huang ◽  
Xiang-Qian Shen
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Glass Substrate ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

Light Trapping by Ag Nanoparticles Chemically Assembled inside Thin-Film Hydrogenated Microcrystalline Si Solar Cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (4R) ◽  
pp. 042302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hidenori Mizuno ◽  
Hitoshi Sai ◽  
Koji Matsubara ◽  
Michio Kondo
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Ag Nanoparticles ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

Numerical simulation of plasmonic light trapping in thin-film Si solar cells: surface coverage effect

2015 ◽  
Vol 48 (27) ◽  
pp. 275101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alok Ji ◽  
Richa Sharma ◽  
Hardik Pathak ◽  
Nilesh Kumar Pathak ◽  
R P Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Surface Coverage ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

scholarly journals Wet-Chemical Surface Texturing of Sputter-Deposited ZnO:Al Films as Front Electrode for Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Yan ◽  
Selvaraj Venkataraj ◽  
Armin G. Aberle
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Surface Texturing ◽  
Soda Lime ◽  
Photon Absorption ◽  
Soda Lime Glass ◽  
Angle Distribution ◽  
Si Solar Cells ◽  
Thin Film Silicon

Transparent conductive oxides (TCOs) play a major role as the front electrodes of thin-film silicon (Si) solar cells, as they can provide optical scattering and hence improved photon absorption inside the devices. In this paper we report on the surface texturing of aluminium-doped zinc oxide (ZnO:Al or AZO) films for improved light trapping in thin-film Si solar cells. The AZO films are deposited onto soda-lime glass sheets via pulsed DC magnetron sputtering. Several promising AZO texturing methods are investigated using diluted hydrochloric (HCl) and hydrofluoric acid (HF), through a two-step etching process. The developed texturing procedure combines the advantages of the HCl-induced craters and the smaller and jagged—but laterally more uniform—features created by HF etching. In the two-step process, the second etching step further enhances the optical haze, while simultaneously improving the uniformity of the texture features created by the HCl etch. The resulting AZO films show large haze values of above 40%, good scattering into large angles, and a surface angle distribution that is centred at around 30°, which is known from the literature to provide efficient light trapping for thin-film Si solar cells.

scholarly journals Plasmonic light trapping in thin-film Si solar cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 024002 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Spinelli ◽  
V E Ferry ◽  
J van de Groep ◽  
M van Lare ◽  
M A Verschuuren ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Si Solar Cells

Processing and Characterization of Efficient Thin-Film Polycrystalline-Silicon Solar Cells

2008 ◽  
Vol 1101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Gordon ◽  
Dries Van Gestel ◽  
Yu Qiu ◽  
Srisaran Venkatachalam ◽  
Guy Beaucarne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Solar Cells ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Glass Ceramic ◽  
Polycrystalline Silicon ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Glass Ceramics ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Ceramic Substrates ◽  
Si Solar Cells

AbstractEfficient thin-film polycrystalline-silicon (pc-Si) solar cells on inexpensive substrates could substantially lower the price of photovoltaic electricity. We recently showed that good solar cells can be made from pc-Si obtained by epitaxial thickening using thermal CVD of a seed layer made by aluminium-induced crystallization (AIC) of amorphous silicon. We already reported cells in substrate configuration with energy conversion efficiencies up to 8.0% for layers on ceramic alumina substrates. However, much higher efficiencies (η > 10%) are needed for this type of pc-Si solar cells to become cost-effective. To achieve these higher efficiencies, cells will probably have to be made in a superstrate configuration on transparent substrates and advanced light trapping will need to be applied. In this paper we report on our recent progress with pc-Si solar cells made on transparent glass-ceramic substrates.So far, our best pc-Si solar cells in substrate configuration on glass-ceramics showed an efficiency of 6.4%. By using plasma texturing to lower the front side reflection, we increased the current density of our cells by roughly 1 mA cm-2. The Jsc is much lower for cells on glass-ceramic than for cells on alumina. This is the result of the better diffuse back reflectance of alumina compared to glass. The Voc and fill factor are comparable for cells on both substrates.To make pc-Si solar cells on glass in superstrate configuration, we will use a-Si/c-Si rear junction emitters. As a first test of the feasibility of this approach, we measured the illuminated IV parameters of pc-Si cells made for the substrate configuration in superstrate configuration. In superstrate configuration, the current density of the cells is much lower than in substrate configuration due to the non-optimized cell design for superstrate illumination. The Voc is slightly smaller in superstrate configuration due to the lower current density.These results indicate that the glass-ceramic substrates are fully compatible to our poly-Si solar cell process. Furthermore, rear-junction poly-Si cells in superstrate configuration should lead to good cell results once the absorber layer thickness is optimized to the diffusion length of the material and light trapping features adapted to the superstrate configuration are applied.

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